This winter in Philadelphia we’ve had an unusually high
number of “snow events,” as the weathernauts have come to call them. Luckily,
none of them dropped more than a few inches of snow. I’ve long been a proponent
of photographing cemeteries under duress (mine, as well as theirs), so when
weather hits, it becomes a “graveyard event” for me. One weekend in late
January was a prime example. A small amount of snow was predicted for Friday
night, and although it was expected to be colder than a well-digger’s butt on
Saturday morning, I planned to head out to West Philly’s Woodlands Cemetery.
On the morning in question as I was getting ready to leave
my house in South Philly, I checked the conditions and saw that about an inch
had fallen and it was not actively snowing. There would be a light coating on
the tombstones and I didn’t have to shoot through falling snow. Decent
conditions - light dry snow, not enough to shovel or even sweep from around my
house. I threw some chemical hand warmers in with my camera gear and got ready
to make the twenty-minute drive to the Woodlands.
Looking out my back door, I was reminded of my stolen snow shovel
from a few years back.
One wintery
Friday evening it was snowing like a mother, so our friend Tom asked to stay
the night. As we sat inside holed up and ordering Chinese food, Tom thought he
saw someone through the glass at our back door. I figured since there really
wasn’t anything worth stealing back there I didn’t even get up to look. Next
morning, I was chagrined to find my snow shovel gone – with fourteen inches of
snow to shovel! I closely scrutinized the hardware toted by the vagrants who
came to my front door over the next few hours asking for twenty dollars to
shovel my walks. Could anyone possibly have the nerve to steal my shovel and
then try to
charge me to shovel my
walk with it? I ended up paying two neighbor kids to do the work.
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| Headstone, Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia |
But to the subject at hand: I have not spent a lot of time
at the Woodlands in recent years, but I figured I should reacquaint myself with
its charms as it will be one of three subjects this fall in a photography
exhibit in which I will be a participant. In September and October of 2013, I
along with two photographer friends will be exhibiting work at the
Philadelphia Free Library (Benjamin Franklin Parkway) on “
Historic Cemeteries of
Philadelphia.” The exhibit will feature predominantly Laurel Hill, Woodlands,
and Mount Moriah cemeteries.
As it happens, each of us had long ago and for
various reasons chosen one of these cemeteries on which to concentrate, so we
each have many images of these institutions spanning a ten-year period. Frank
Rausch (who literally lives in Laurel Hill Cemetery), Robert Reinhardt (who has
done extensive photography and research in the cemeteries of Scotland), and Ed Snyder
(starring as himself), will be presenting their photography of Laurel Hill,
Woodlands, and Mount Moriah, respectively.
From the photos I’ve sprinkled throughout this article, you
can see that I was rather taken with the light covering of snow on everything.
Rather than cover up, it seemed to accentuate small details, which I have in
the past, missed. Of course, the last two times I was here it was actively snowing,
so I didn’t walk around as much. From the lettering on headstones to small
carvings such as the boat propeller above, the eye is drawn more to the shapes of
things than their intended meaning. The geometric lines of crosses and crypt covers jump
out at you, begging to be photographed. A dusting of snow on the cold shoulders
of these Victorian mourning statues make them appear far more alone in their
grief.
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| Runners at the Woodlands |
It’s odd that the first things you see at the Woodlands after
passing through its ornate hourglass gates are joggers, runners, dog walkers, dog
runners, and track teams working out. It’s a good thing there are so many
well-kept paved roads here, otherwise paths would be worn into the grass! Of
the three cemeteries I mentioned, Woodlands is by far the most visited for the purpose
of maintaining people's
health! Due to its
location in Philadelphia’s University City district, and the fact that it is
very safe and well-maintained, people treat it as a getaway from the city - a park,
a place to play. Oddly, this was exactly the intent of the designers and
architects of the Victorian rural or “garden” cemetery, that it be a bucolic getaway from
the noisy city, a place for people to enjoy themselves.
“The trees that adorn the cemetery are some of them of
majestic growth, leading to the scenery and the grounds the most impressive
effect. The vistas beneath the foliage,
or between the separated groves, conduct the eye to distant prospects, varied
on every hand, and by every change of position,; there, the spires and public
buildings of the city are beheld; here, the windings of the Schuylkill [River];
and more distant, the bright surface of the Delaware [River] and the blue hills
of New Jersey skirt the horizon; while flowers and shrubs are scattered
plenteously around, shedding a cheery influence in shaded lawns, or among the
tombs. All that taste can suggest or science demand, consistently with the
solemn purpose of the place, has been added to the superior advantages already
possessed.”
– From "The Stranger’s Guide in
Philadelphia …," 1852.
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| Woodlands' entrance gate |
The above description of the Woodlands is excerpted from an odd
1852 travel guide of sorts, “
The Stranger’s Guide in Philadelphia and its Environs: Including Laurel Hill, Woodlands, Monument, Odd Fellows, and GlenwoodCemeteries: with Illustrations.” I say odd because it’s
author is “anonymous” and various
cemeteries are actually
named in the title. Truly, in Victorian times, a city’s garden cemeteries
were gems worth boasting about. While you really can’t see the rivers anymore due to the
train tracks and power plants, nor the distant “blue hills of New Jersey,” the
passage above makes you wonder what lovely Woodlands Cemetery looked like in 1854. No doubt the grounds themselves were at least as beautiful as they are today.
References and Further Investigation:
The Woodlands Cemetery
website
As it happens, each of us had long ago and for
various reasons chosen one of these cemeteries on which to concentrate, so we
each have many images of these institutions spanning a ten-year period. Frank
Rausch (who literally lives in Laurel Hill Cemetery), Robert Reinhardt (who has
done extensive photography and research in the cemeteries of Scotland), and Ed Snyder
(starring as himself), will be presenting their photography of Laurel Hill,
Woodlands, and Mount Moriah, respectively.
From the photos I’ve sprinkled throughout this article, you
can see that I was rather taken with the light covering of snow on everything.
Rather than cover up, it seemed to accentuate small details, which I have in
the past, missed. Of course, the last two times I was here it was actively snowing,
so I didn’t walk around as much. From the lettering on headstones to small
carvings such as the boat propeller above, the eye is drawn more to the shapes of
things than their intended meaning. The geometric lines of crosses and crypt covers jump
out at you, begging to be photographed. A dusting of snow on the cold shoulders
of these Victorian mourning statues make them appear far more alone in their
grief. 
